-feigtion clutch



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. D. B. WEST. FRIGTION CLUTCH.

No. 363,493. Patented May 24, 1887.`

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID B. VEST, OF HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR O F, ONE-HALF TO CHRISTIAN H. BAUSH, OF SAME PLACE.

FRICTION-CLUTCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent'. No. 363,493, dated May 24. 1 B87.

Application filed March 7, 1887.` Serial No. 229,922.

To all whom r6-may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID B. WEST, a citizen of the United States. residing at Holyoke, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Friction Clutches and Couplings, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to friction couplings and clutches, the object being to provide a if. device of this class having improved frictional mechanism and means for operating the same; and the invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the various parts `of the coupling, all 'as hereinafter fully dei 5 scribed, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a transverse section, taken on line as w, Fig. 3, of a friction coupling or pulley emhodyingmy invention, and'of the '.zo shaft to which it is applied. Fig. 2 is an end view with the cone removed. Fig. 3 is a face view ofcertain internal detail parts of the coupling and an edgeview of the main case,- all as hereinafter fully described. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the internal frictional devices of the coupling, taken on line x', Fig. 3, and of thefrictiou-disk operatingvbetween the levers and said devices.

In the drawings, 2 and 3 indicate parts of 3o two shafts end to end, which have applied to them the Within-described friction-coupling, whereby one of said shafts is coupled to and uncoupled from the other at will by the employment of a suitable lever, or shipping- 3 5 rod,77 as it is usually termed.

4 An iron pulley-case, 4, of cylindrical cup form, having a suitable hub, as shown, is, by a key, m, secured to, and thereby made to rotate with, the shaft 2, which, for the purpose 4o of illustration, is desig-nated as the drivingshaft. To the open side of the said pulleycase is secured, by suitable bolts, z, the cover 5, having thereon thev hollow projections 5. Said case 4 extends over the adjoining end of the driven shaft 3, and the said projections 5a extend in the same direction-that is, in aline with shaft 3 and on oppositesides of the sameas shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Since the said cup-shaped case 4 and its connected cover 5 5o contain the main operating parts of the coup- (No model.)

ling, they may be properly designated as the coupling-case.77 Acone, B, having an annular groove therein, as shown, is capable ofa free sliding movement on said shaft 3, actuated by a suitable lever having an engagement in said groove, and the smaller end of s'aid cone is adapted to enter the ends of said projections 5* t or to pass between the latter and said shaft 3. Within each of said projections 5 on the cover 5, which is attached to said pulley-case 4, is pivoted at y an elbow-lever, 12, one arm of which extends toward the openend of the projection, and its second arm is adapted to engage with the side of a friction-disk, 6, hereinafter described. The first-named arm of said lever 12 has on the side thereof next to the shaft 3 an adjustable shoe, 13, which is secured by one end to said arm, and a screw, 14, passes through the latter against said shoe near ils free end.

In practice,when the coupling is operated to unite the shafts 2 and 3, so that they shall have a common rotary motion, the cone B has its end forced between the ends of the said levers 12, and by constant use the ends of said 7 5 levers become more or less worn, and to provide means for keeping the points of contact of said levers and cone in about the sanieoperative relation said shoes are attached to the levers, and as the shoes become worn their free 8o ends can be adjusted nearer and nearer to the sides ofthe shaft,so thata certain endwise movement of the cone under the arms of the levers will cause them to swing sufficiently to operate the parts with which they engage in the coupling. If desired, the shoes 13 may be omitted from said levers, letting the arms of the latter engage directly with said cone. The said cover 5 is provided with a suitable hub, J, whereby it has a proper support on 9o the shaft 3.

A pulley, 7, is connected to the end yof the shaft 3 by a key, i, and a rotary motion of the pulley is thereby imparted to said shaft.

The hub of the pulley 7 extends slightly beg5 yond the end of the shaft 3, in order to let the adjoining end of the shaft 2 enter it, and thereby the ends of the two shafts nd a mutual support to keep them in line; also, said pulleyhub is made a little longer on one side of its roo arms than on the other, to provide for placing the friction-disk 6 thereon, said disk being free to be moved on the hub by the action of said levers 12.

The pulley 7 is provided with arms 8, having the form of a cross in transverse section, as shown-in Fig. 4. and has a rim of the usual form, as shown. The inner opposite sides of the case 4 have the inwardlyprojecting studs d thereon,which engage with slots in the edge of said disk 6, thereby causing the latter to rotate with said case. A series of wooden segments, 9, is secured between the arms 8 of the pulley,which fill the spaces between said arms and the hub and rim of the pulley, as shown in Fig. 3, and are thick enough to project slightly beyond the opposite edges of the pulley-rim. Each of said segment parts 9 between the arms of the pulley consists of two pieces of suitable board or plank united side to side by suitable screwsff, and having grooves in their united edges to receive the laterally-projecting ribs on the sides of the arms of the pulley, as shown in Fig. 4 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3; but said grooves in the edges of the segments are somewhat wider than the said ribs which enter them, for the purpose of permitting said segments to have a free movement to a certain degree within the. space in the pulley, which they fill in the direction ofthe length of the hub of the pulley, and springs 10 (see Fig. 1) are placed between said ribs on the arms and the adjoining sides of the grooves and segments to cause the latter to be moved slightly in the pulley after the pressure is removed from them, as below described.

The operation of the within-described improvements is as follows, the parts of the coupling having been connected to the ends of the shafts 2 and 3, as shown in Fig. 1, wherein said parts are represented in free positions, shaft 3 is brought under control of and caused to be rotated by shaft 2 as follows: Vv'hile the cone B is not in engagement with the lever 12, the pulley-case 4 and the cover 5, and the parts attached thereto, all have a rotary motion with shaft 2, the shaft 3 being then disconnected from the rotating part-s; but when cone B is forced between the long arms of the levers 12 their short arms are moved against the side of the friction-disk 6, thereby forcing said disk against the segments 9 within the pulley 7 and moving said segments against the inner side of the rotating case 4, and h olding said segments rigidly in such frictional contact with said cup as to cause the pulley 7 and the shaft 3, to which it is attached, to rotate in consonance with shaft 2.

The withdrawal of the cone from between the ends of the levers 12 removes the pressure from the disk 6 and said segments 9, leaving the springs 10 free to withdraw said segments from contact with the inner surface of the case 4, but without the interposition of the springs 10 said segments gradually work away from contact with said ease when the pressure is taken off from the disk 6, as above described, thereby causing the shaft3 to cease its rotation.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. A friction-coupling having a hollow case, as 4, and its cover 5, a pulley, as 7, inclosed in said case, having wooden segments, substantially as described, attached between its arms and projecting beyond the rim of the pulley, a friction-disk, as 6, having a free movement on the hub of said pulley toward and from one side of said segments, two elbow-levers, as 12, pivoted in said case, having their shorter arms engaging with said disk, combined with suitable shafts, as described, to which said case and pulley are attached, and a cone, as B, capable of a sliding motion on one of said shafts to engage its smaller end between the longer arms of said levers, substantially as set forth.

2. The case, as 4 and 5, secured to a shaft, and having two elbow-levers, as 12, pivoted therein, a second shaft entering said case between said levers, a pulley, as 7, having a keyed connection with said second shaft within said case, and provided with a series of wooden segments, as 9, loosely secured between its arms and projecting beyond the rim thereof, and a friction-disk, as 6, having a free movement on'the hub of said pulley'by engagement with said levers, combined with a cone, as B, having a free movement on said second shaft between the arms of the levers 12, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination, the pulley 7, the wooden segments 9, loosely secured between the arms of said pulley, and the springs 10, interposed between said segments and arms, substantially as set forth. j 4. In combination, thepulley 7, having the wooden segments 9 between its arms, the case, as 4 and 5, the friction-disk 6, capable of moving on the hub of said pulley toward and from said segments', the levers 12, engaging with said disk and having the adjustable shoes 13 thereon, the shafts 2 and 3, and the cone B, having a sliding movement o'u the latter-named shaft and engaging said levers, substantially as set forth.

DAVID B. VEST.

Viitnesses:

H. A. CHArIN, G. M. GHMIBERLAIN.

IOO 

